Thursday, 29 November 2012

There are hardly any references to warm-ups in our mythology. We do not
hear about Lord Krishna doing surya namaskars before dancing on Kalinga
sarpa or Lord Nataraja doing a few Pilates before his thandava nritya
nor do we hear about them suffering from any injuries for not having
done any exercises before a performance. The divine beings who danced
slaying demons or saving the world obviously never felt the need for a
warm-up. Looks like they functioned on magical powers and could always
rely on mortality. Unfortunately, for us mere mortals, a warm-up is
quintessential before any performance, practice or rehearsal.

Do Bharatanatyam dancers have to do a separate warm-up when they do so
many adavus to prepare their body? This is an excellent question but, is
the body really ready to start a thattadavu from the word go?
Thattadavu, though considered a very simple adavu is very demanding on
the body. A warm-up then becomes essential to prepare the body for these
adavus. It prepares the limbs for a good araimandi and ensures that the
lower back, ankles and knees are ready for the impact of thattadavus.
Besides, how many of us do adavus before a rehearsal or performance? A
good warm-up before starting adavus will make sure that you do not have
any cramps or aches while doing them.

4 comments:

Thanks for this post, Veena. I have another question related to this. How do you stay hydrated during the performance? I sweat a lot during my performance & towards the end, my legs become stiff due to dehydration. How do we take care of this?

Hi veena,I m a 37 yr old mother of two kids, starting to learn the divine dance form of Bharatanatyam, due to my interest in the same. I have started with sutral adavu and I practise daily to get it correct. My intention is to perform someday. Would I be thinking very late in life or u have ppl doing well inspite of starting late, like me. Just want your expert opinion and encouragement.

This really helped me get a rhythm with my warm-up. Also, I really enjoyed reading about other styles of dancers and how they perform. Thanks for the tip about warm clothes during make-up and before.Thanks again